[Force spike]

Thank you for all ur help and supports guys. Well my fish are gone and i have just did 40% water change. i got rid of all the corals that is looking unhealthly. Should i get rid of the live rocks? or can i keep them becuase i am afraid that thiere might be white spots on the live rocks.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Force spike

Thank you for all ur help and supports guys. Well my fish are gone and i have just did 40% water change. i got rid of all the corals that is looking unhealthly. Should i get rid of the live rocks? or can i keep them becuase i am afraid that thiere might be white spots on the live rocks.

Yes, as a matter of fact, you do have Cryptocaryon irritans tomonts (cysts) on your live rocks. You also have them on your sand, corals (if any), glass, equipment, etc. In order to break the life cycle you must simply remove all hosts (fish) for a long enough period. C. irritans cannot survive without a period of growth on a live fish to complete its life cycle. In its trophont stage it spends about a week growing in the skin and gills of the fish. Then it drops off and enters the water as a large single cell called a tomont. It swims around for 12 - 18 hours until a sticky cyst wall is secreted which allows it to attach to rocks, sediments, coral, glass, etc.

Once attached the tomont continues to mature until it divides into a hundred to two hundred smaller tomites. This stage can last anywhere from 3 to 28 days depending on water temperature and other factors. The warmer the temperature, the faster the growth and the quicker it completes this stage of its life cycle. In fact, all of the stages will be quicker in warmer temperatures than in cooler ones because the parasite will grow faster. The tomites produce cilia which allow them to bore through the cyst wall and enter the water as free swimming theronts. When the theronts encounter a fish, they burrow into the skin and gill tissue to complete the life cycle; but they must find a host fish within a matter of hours or they die.

You must allow your aquarium to remain "fishless" for a period of time long enough for all the tomonts to hatch into tomites, which will swim around for as long as 18 hours looking for a host fish to attach to before dying. The usual recommendation is four to six weeks just to be on the safe side. If you keep the water temperature on the warm side (82-84 degrees F, 28-29C), you might be safe waiting just 10 days or less. The risk here is that if even one tomont survives and hatches after a fish is in the tank, the tomites (a hundred or more) will find it and attach.

How long you leave your aquarium without fish is up to you. I would leave it without fish for a minimum of six weeks it it were mine.

[Force spike]

Right thx for that information. SO after six weeks the tank will be white spot free!
Well if iam gona be some new fish what type do u guys suggest? should i try my luck with a hippos tang again? or should i just get some easy fish to look after like clowns. ANd other question How many fish can i get at first?

thx for all ur time.


Edit: All my tests for year 10 is finally over!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Force spike

SO after six weeks the tank will be white spot free!

Yes, it should be. There is always the slight possibility that a few tomonts (cysts) will remain dormant but viable much longer than they are supposed to but that may not be a problem as long as the new fish are healthy and stress-free.

Originally Posted by Force spike

Well if iam gona be some new fish what type do u guys suggest? should i try my luck with a hippos tang again? or should i just get some easy fish to look after like clowns. ANd other question How many fish can i get at first?

It would be better to start out with easier fish and not more than one or two at the most until after they have settled in successfully. If you like clownfish, one or two of those would be a good first choice. Then wait at least three or four weeks before adding anything else.

Good luck!

[Force spike]

It would be better to start out with easier fish and not more than one or two at the most until after they have settled in successfully. If you like clownfish, one or two of those would be a good first choice. Then wait at least three or four weeks before adding anything else.

Good luck!

Thank u all alot for all teh help u have given me...As long as we are on the topic about clowns i would just like to ask. SHould i get a amenone? does that help to reduce teh stress of my clowns becuase it;s their home in teh wild.

[Ninong]

I think you should wait on the anemone decision until after your tank has been up and running for several months. There are a lot of problems associated with keeping anemones that you should be aware of before you attempt it.

[CanadianBacon]

Force spike.............I won't address the Ich infection because I'm sure a search will turn up lots of confusing information. However, your Blue Hippo Tang is not considered a herbivore and although it will benefit from occasional feedings of vegetable matter it's main diet should be meaty foods including shopped fresh or frozen shrimp, mysis shrimp, krill, and vitamine soaked brine shrimp. It should also be fed several times a day in small quantities. Like many of the Tangs the Hippo can deteriate quikley and fall victum to infection if it's proper diet is not met. Good luck.

Dave

[GR8-1]

I Also Have this Lch thing i was woundering does it hurt or kill your corals or is it only a fish disease thanks.

[Reefland]

Hi GR8-1,


C. irritans (ICH) is strictly a fish parasite and has no affects on corals.